Iranian Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami warned U.S. President-elect Donald Trump not to play games with Iran, and said Trump should apologize to the Iranian people for calling them "terrorists" during his campaign.

Trump should known that Iranians "will offer resistance against the United States of America until their very last breath," the influential cleric said during Friday prayers in Tehran on November 11.

Trump should know better than to play with "the tail of the lion," Khatami added, as Tehran has successfully foiled and frustrated several of Trump's White House predecessors, he said.

Trump should "respectfully apologize to the nation" for his harsh charges against Iran during the campaign, Khatami said, noting that "We respect the people of other countries and we respect their elections."

Meanwhile, the powerful Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called Trump's election a sign of American decline.

He urged Americans to resist Trump's intolerant views of Muslims and minorities.

"Peace be upon the American people, those who like moderation and who want peace and peaceful coexistence between religions and ethnicities," Sadr said.